This invention relates to hand tools for dispensing frozen confections such as ice cream, frozen yogurt and other solid foods that can be scooped out of a bulk container, and has particular reference to a scoop for frozen ice cream and the like of the type for forming a generally spherical “ball” of the product to be dispensed, for placement in a single-serving container or holder such as an edible cone. The term “ice cream scoop” is used herein to refer to a scoop that is usable for all such materials.
Scoops for frozen confections have been used for many years to dig into a bulk supply of a frozen product and remove a selected quantity of the product from a bulk container to be served to a consumer. Perhaps the most used configuration has a curved body forming a scoop blade that is mounted on a handle with which the user presses the blade into the bulk product and drags it across the surface to shear a layer of the product into the scoop. With this type, the sheared produced curls into the scoop and can be formed roughly into a “ball” shape for placement into a bowl or cone. Shearing the material can require a substantial amount of effort when the product is frozen solid and hard.
Another popular type of scoop has a semi-spherical or cup-shaped body forming the scoop, also with a sharpened edge to be forced into the material to fill the cup. This scoop also is capable of digging into or shearing away enough material to roll into the cup and into a spherical shape, usually by over-filling the semi-spherical cup. This type of scoop often is provided with a semi-circular release band in the cup that is operable by a thumb-activated lever to release the ball of product from the scoop. This type of scoop also requires a high level of force when used in hard material.
The present invention is an improvement in such scoops that is designed to reduce the amount of effort required and to facilitate the formation of spherically-shaped servings of frozen material, even when frozen very hard.